Free Speech Coalition, which has been fairly quiet since organizing a poorly attended protest at an ICANN meeting in San Francisco earlier this year, is making some noise again.

The group that represents some adult webmasters has provided a template “Trademark Protection Letter” for adult web site owners to send to .xxx registry ICM Registry. People can customize the letter with their list of trademarks to put ICM “on notice”.

According to the letter, ICM Registry has a greater responsibility than generic registries to protect specific trademarks because it’s clear that they will be used in direct competition with the owners. The letter states:

In contrast, if the holder of a trademark engages in selling specific products and services, a third party purchasing a domain identical to the trademark in a generic TLD, such as .NET or .BIZ
only improperly competes against the trademark holder if the use of the domain name is directly
in competition with the holder’s area of business.

The letter concludes with a threat:

ICM is now on notice that the registration of any domain name using the .XXX extension that is identical or confusingly similar to one of the trademarks or domains listed on Exhibit A will violate (COMPANY NAME)’s intellectual property rights and constitute an unfair business practice. ICM must take steps to prevent such activity before it can occur. Failure to take affirmative steps to prevent this conduct will establish ICM’s substantial liability.

(COMPANY NAME) welcomes the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with ICM, should ICM choose to resolve these matters other than through litigation.

…while the Free Speech Coalition is respected as a tireless supporter of First Amendment rights in the United States, it is not and has never been “the” trade association for the global adult entertainment industry. The Board is well aware of this, as it was a topic of discussion between Dr. Twomey and Ms. Duke in the public forum in Lisbon in 2007.

Lawley also reminds Dengate-Thrush that the definition of the sponsored community for .xxx hasn’t change and does not necessarily include the entire online porn industry:

In that application and in all subsequent materials, the sponsored community for .XXX has been consistently defined as online adult entertainment providers and service providers who have voluntarily determined that a system of self-identification would be beneficial and who have come together to develop and to comply with industry best practices.

He also disclosed that only 6,435 out of a total of 179,630 pre-registrations for .xxx have been labeled as “defensive” by the applicants.